North Platte – The new National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) rankings (Week of 12/17/13) are out and the North Platte Community College men’s basketball team (12-0, 4-0 South Sub-Region) is the No. 6 team in the nation for Division I Men’s Basketball.

The ranking is the highest in school history and the eighth ranking in school history to go along with two pre-season rankings. Rankings first started during the 2001-2002 season.

This year the Knights were ranked No. 25 in the pre-season poll and followed it up with a No. 12 ranking (Week of 12/3/13) with a 9-0 record and a No. 8 ranking (12/10/13) with a 11-0 record before earning the No. 6 ranking this week with a 12-0 record.

Last season the Knights were ranked No. 22 (Week of 2/26/13) with a 25-5 record and No. 21 (Week of 3/5/13 and Final Poll) with a 27-5 record before making an appearance at the NJCAA National Tournament and winning their opening round game after winning the Region IX Tournament.

During the 2009-10 season the Knights were pre-season No. 15 before re-entering the polls at No. 19 (Week of 2/9/10) with a record of 19-3 and remained there for the rest of the season at No. 21 (Week of 2/16/10) with a record of 21-4 and No. 22 (Week of 2/23/10) with a record of 23-4 before advancing to the NJCAA National after winning the Region IX Tournament. For a history of all Knight rankings, click here.

There will be another poll on Jan. 6 2014 before the Knights return to action.. The Knights return to action in 2014 on Jan. 10 as they travel to Scottsbluff to take on Western Nebraska Community College (7-6, 0-1 South Sub-Region) at 8:30 p.m. CST. North Platte remains on the road as they face Eastern Wyoming in Torrington, Wyo. on Jan. 11 at 5 p.m. CST. The Knights first seven games of 2014 are on the road.

North Platte – The No. 8 North Platte Community College men’s basketball team (12-0, 4-0 South Sub-Region) knocked off the No. 17 Northeastern Junior College Plainsmen (12-2, 1-2 South Sub-Region) by a score of 69-60 Wednesday night.

“It’s a great way to head to break with a win,” said head coach Kevin O’Connor. “Give NJC a ton of credit, they are a very talented basketball team and we had to find a way to win tonight.”

The first half was back and forth as neither team could gain a foothold offensive as it was a well-played half defensively. At the end of the half the Knights were able to gain a five point lead as Marco Pascolo would hit a 3-point shot right before the buzzer to give the Knights a 28-23 half time lead.

In the second half, both teams started to find more of a rhythm offensively with North Platte finding it quicker. After shooting 1 of 11 from the 3-point line in the first half the Knights were able to knock down 4 of 8 in the second half. The Knights were able to extend their lead to 16 points before a late flurry made the final margin nine.

The Knights were led by Ethan Montalvo who finished with 16 points. Tim Simmons and Marco Pascolo were also in double figures with 14 apiece with Simmons pulling down eight rebounds. Cameron Williams and Aireon Porter each finished with nine points while Porter added eight rebounds including four offensive. Jake Maslo led the way on the boards with nine. Joe Uke was the only player in double figures for the Plainsmen finishing with 13 points.

“I think of every shot as a miss,” said Porter “and try to go get it. It was a really good team win for us.”

North Platte will travel to Sterling on Feb. 4 to face Northeastern in a rematch of tonight’s game.

The Knights return to action in 2014 on Jan. 10 as they travel to Scottsbluff to take on Western Nebraska Community College (7-6, 0-1 South Sub-Region) at 8:30 p.m. CST. North Platte remains on the road as they face Eastern Wyoming in Torrington, Wyo. on Jan. 11 at 5 p.m. CST. The Knights first seven games of 2014 are on the road.

North Platte – The North Platte Community College Lady Knights basketball team (6-6) fell Wednesday night at McDonald-Belton Gymnasium to the Northeastern Junior College Plainswomen (5-7) 67-51. The Lady Knights were out-scored 24-42 in the second half.

The Lady Knights got off to a hot start as they held the Plainswomen to only three points in the first five minutes of the game to claim a 9-3 lead. The second five minutes saw the Plainswomen make a strong push as they outscored the Lady Knights 4-8 to be trailing 13-11. The third five minutes was again won by Northeastern as they scored nine points to the Lady Knights five to take an 18-20 lead. The Lady Knights won the final five minutes of the first half to take a 27-25 into the halftime break.

In the second half, the Plainswomen came out firing and made 67 percent of their field goals in the half compared to 31 percent in the first half. North Platte would end the night with 24 turnovers on the night compared to 17 from Northeastern. The Plainswomen would get up by 10 points early in the half and hold of the Lady Knights the rest of the way on their way to a 16 point victory.

Aliyah Brown would be the only Lady Knight in double figures as she finished with 11 points. Leading scorer DaVontaye Merritt was held to eight points on the night. Philippa Faul led the Plainswoment in scoring at 12 points while Brooke Blair and Meg Pritchard each had 10 points.

North Platte will travel to Sterling on Feb. 4 to face Northeastern in a rematch of tonight’s game.

The Lady Knights will return to action in 2014 on Jan. 10 as they host Doane College JV with a tip scheduled for 7:30 p.m at McDonald-Belton Gymnasium.

North Platte – The No. 12 North Platte Community College men’s basketball team (11-0, 3-0 South Sub-Region) will close out the fall semester on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. as they host No. 13 Northeastern Junior College (12-1, 1-1 South Sub-Region) at McDonald-Belton Gymnasium.

The Knights face the Plainsmen for the first of two scheduled meetings this year. Last year the two teams faced off three times, with the third being in the Region IX Tournament Semifinals. The Knights were able to defeat the Plainsmen in all three meetings.

Ethan Montalvo leads the Knights in scoring at 15.3 points per game while Cameron Williams is second on the team with 12.3 points per game. Tim Simmons leads the Knights in assists at 2.5 per game to go along with 9.5 points per game. Marco Pascolo also averages 9.5 points while shooting 53 percent from behind the 3-point line. Jake Maslo leads the team in rebounding at 6.6 to go along with 7.1 points per game.

Northeastern has five players’ average double figures in scoring while scoring 93 points per game as a team. Duol Mayot leads the way in scoring and rebounding with 15.3 points and 7.2 rebounds. Bronson Moton (14.2), Joe Uke (13.0), Odessa Lear (12.2) and Jamal Peterson (10.4) are the other players in double figures for the Plainsmen.

The game will follow the women’s game and will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio 1410 and online.

The Knights return to action in 2014 on Jan. 10 as they travel to Scottsbluff to take on Western Nebraska Community College (7-6, 0-1 South Sub-Region) at 8:30 p.m. CST. North Platte remains on the road as they face Eastern Wyoming in Torrington, Wyo. on Jan. 11 at 5 p.m. CST. The Knights first seven games of 2014 are on the road.

North Platte – The North Platte Community College Lady Knights basketball team (6-5) hosts the Northeaster Junior College Plainswomen (4-7) on Wednesday night at McDonald-Belton Gymnasium in their final game of 2013.

The Lady Knights and Plainswomen meet for the first of two meetings. The Lady Knights will make the return trip to Sterling, Colo. on Feb. 4. The Lady Knights are led by their front line of DaVontaye Merritt and April Stull. Merritt leads the team in points and rebounding at 18.6 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per game while Stull is second in both at 13.4 points per game and 8.0 rebounds per game. Jordan Dickerson leads the Lady Knights in assists from her point guard position with 4.7 assists per game.

The Plainswomen are led by Arianna Sheka and Brooke Blair who both average in double figures at 14.5 and 12.2 points per game. The Plainswomen shoot 42 percent from the field and 29 percent behind the 3-point arc while holding their opponents to 36 percent from the field and 20 percent behind the 3-point arc.

The game will precede the men’s game and will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio 1410 and online. Northeastern defeated North Platte twice a year ago, including a one point victory in North Platte.

The Lady Knights will return to action in 2014 on Jan. 10 as they host Doane College JV with a tip scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

North Platte – The No. 12 North Platte Community College men’s basketball team (11-0, 3-0 South Sub-Region) extended their winning streak on Saturday night as they ran past the Lamar Community College Runnin’ Lopes (3-12, 0-2 South Sub-Region) by a final score of 86-56.

The Knights started the game sluggish as they got off to a 5-0 lead before allowing the Runnin’ Lopes to answer back and take an early lead. The Knights would open up a 15 point lead at halftimes intermission behind the hot shooting of Marco Pascolo who went 4-4 from behind the 3-point line in the first half to finish the half with 14 points. Devante Anderson was able to keep Lamar in the game by scoring 13 first half points. The Knights shot 45 percent from the field in the half while limiting the Runnin’ Lopes to 35 percent shooting.

The second half picked up where the first left off as the Knights were able to extend their lead behind unselfish play and solid defense. The Knights continued to shoot the ball well as they shot 60 percent in the second half while limiting Lamar to only 30 percent to out-score the Runnin’ Lopes 44-29 in the second half alone.

Xavier Hall came off the bench and gave the Knights a boost offensive as he finished with a career-high 13 points and first game in double figures as a Knight.

“I feel like we came out sluggish to start,” said Hall. “But once we picked up our defensive intensity we started to click and played the way we wanted to play.”

Pascolo finished with a game-high 17 points while Knights leading scorer Ethan Montalvo was also in double-figures with 14. Jacob Maslo recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

“I thought we played well and took care of business tonight,” said assistant coach Nathan Wieseler. “It sets up a big game for us on Wednesday and as we close out the first semester at home against Northeastern Junior College. It is going to be a great basketball game.”

The Knights welcome #13 Northeastern Junior College (12-1, 1-1 South Sub-Region) to McDonald-Belton Gymnasium on Wednesday Dec. 11 in their last game of 2013. The game is set to tip at 7:30 following the women’s game and will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio 1410 and online. The Knights return to action in 2014 on Jan. 10 as they travel to Scottsbluff to take on Western Nebraska Community College (7-6, 0-1 South Sub-Region) at 8:30 p.m. CST.

North Platte – The North Platte Community College Lady Knights basketball team (6-5) held off the Lamar Community College Runnin’ Lopes (4-7) by a final score of 87-84 Saturday night at McDonald-Belton Gymnasium behind four free throw by Courtney Widick in the final 30 seconds.

DaVontaye Merritt scored a lay-up with 35 seconds to even the game at 82-82. The Lady Knights would intentionally foul Gabriela Jiminez who would make one of two from the line. The Lady Knights would push the ball up the floor and Widick was fouled to shoot two free throws to put the Lady Knights up one. North Platte would then get a stop and Widick was fouled again and hit two more free throws for the final margin.

“I knew I needed to focus to make the free throws,” said Widick. “I know my teammates were counting on me.

The second half was back and forth action as neither team could open up a lead and hold it as both teams traded baskets to set up the final minute of action.

The Lady Knights would score the first six points of the game before the Runnin’ Lopes responded with eight points of their own. Lamar would open up a five point lead at 17-12 before the teams traded baskets and North Platte tied the game up at 19. DaVontaye Merritt led the way in the first 10 minutes as she scored 14 of North Platte’s 21 points as the Lady Knights trailed 21-24.

The Runnin’ Lopes played a very aggressive and fast paced style of basketball as they always pressed full court and trapped at any opportunity. Lamar substituted five players at a time every couple of minute and had five line changes in the first 4:30 of the game. At the 14:00 minute mark in the first half, Lamar’s head coach called a timeout only to substitute players. In the first half the Runnin’ Lopes had 17 mass substitutions of five players and all 17 players saw the floor.

The second ten minutes of the first half saw the team’s trade baskets including several lay-ups in transition by both teams because of the Runnin’ Lopes frenetic style of play. At the end of the half, the Lady Knights opened up a six point lead that they were able to take into halftime at a score of 42-36. Merritt finished the half with 18 points while April Stull was also in double-figures with 10 points and had seven rebounds. The Runnin’ Lopes had nine players score as reserve Janay Truiett led the way with seven points.

Merritt would finish with 26 points and 11 rebounds to lead the way for the Lady Knights. Three other players were in double figures as Stull finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds to go along with 12 points from Widick and Aliyah Brown.

“It was a total team effort,” said head coach Richard Thurin. “We played good defense and handled their pressure pretty well.”

The Lady Knights host the Northeastern Junior College Plainswomen (4-7) Wednesday Dec. 11 at 5:30 p.m. in their last game of the fall semester. The game with Northeastern precedes the men’s game and will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio 1410 and online. The Lady Knights will then return to action in 2014 on Jan. 10 as they host Doane College JV.

York – The North Platte Community College Lady Knights basketball team (5-5) evened their record as they took to the road Friday night where they defeated York JV 65-54 in York.

The Lady Knights would get off to a fast start behind the hot hand of sophomore Jordan Dickerson who connected on five 3-pointers in the first half to score all of her game-high 15 points. The Lady Knights would take a 43-23 into the locker room. The second half saw the York JV battle back and win the second half 22-31. It would not be enough as the Lady Knights first half lead proved to be insurmountable.

Dickerson was one of three Lady Knights in double figures. DaVontaye Merritt scored 14 points and Aliyah Brown scored 10 for the Lady Knights in the victory. Mesha Ellison led York JV with 18 points while Liz Maher had 12 points and Jaqueline Esqurel had 10.

“We played well in the first half,” said head coach Richard Thurin “but lost some intensity in the second half. Jordan (Dickerson) really stepped up by hitting five 3s.”

The Lady Knights return home tomorrow as they host Lamar Community College at 5:30 p.m. The Lady Knights then host Northeastern Junior College Dec. 11 to finish out the fall semester. The game with Lamar precedes the men’s game and will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio 1410 and online.

The North Platte Community College men’s basketball team will host their annual Knights Mid-Winter Classic for boys and girls in grades 5^th to 8^th. The tournament will be held on Sunday, February 9^th 2014. The tournament will offer brackets based on grade and gender insuring competitive games throughout.

Each division will consist of a maximum of eight teams and each team will be guaranteed three games. Games will consist of two 16:00 minute halves. Registration is $90 per team with a registration deadline of January 24^th. A $10 late fee will be added if registration occurs after the deadline.

More information can be found on the Knights website at www.npccknights.com and by clicking here.

Contact Nathan Wieseler at [email protected] or 308-520-4838 for more information.